The skyline of Detroit with the six towers of the Renaissance Center along with the River Walk and a portion of the Detroit River. / MARY SCHROEDER/Detroit Free Press

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Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Detroit City Council this morning approved a plan to force furloughs on about 600 unionized city workers, the equivalent of a 10% pay cut.

There was virtually no discussion about the matter before the 5-2 vote in favor of a resolution to impose the cut.

The furloughs are part of Mayor Dave Bing's cost-cutting strategy to help solve the city’s financial crisis. City council approval was required to impose the furloughs because negotiations with unions over the issue reached an impasse, according to the Bing administration. But a local labor leader disputed the city’s portrayal and said he is ready to negotiate.

The council discussed the issue in a closed session on Wednesday. The private discussion was permitted because the cut is the subject of ongoing litigation – the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25 has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission to challenge the pay cut.

Ed McNeil, special assistant to the president of AFSCME 25, said the charge was filed because the city cannot impose terms unless a genuine impasse has been reached. McNeil appeared before the council on Wednesday and said he has been attempting to negotiate with the city.

McNeil said he expects the union to prevail in court, forcing the city to pay back workers lost wages.

The one-year pay cut will begin Feb. 25. Workers will be expected to take one unpaid furlough day every two weeks.

The cut already was approved for about 650 nonunion city workers.

The cuts for union and nonunion workers will save about $500,000 a month, according to the mayor's office.

Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins said after today’s meeting that she voted in favor of forcing the pay cut on unions because a similar cut had been approved for nonunion workers.

The imposition of a pay cut is not related to any new authority spelled out in the city's consent agreement with the state.

The consent agreement, reached last April, lays out a series of cost-cutting measures to help fix Detroit's financial crisis. Initially, it granted the mayor new power to cut wages, but that authority was stripped in November when voters repealed Public Act 4.

Although the pay cut is not being imposed under the consent agreement, last week the city presented the furlough imposition plan to the Detroit Financial Advisory Board, which implements the consent agreement's blueprint.